Students of both sexes from municipal schools included in this study ranged in age from 5.0 to 18.9 years old. The students themselves also provided written consent to participate. Parents or guardians approved the evaluation of their children by signing informed consent. In addition, the research was approved by the Ethics Committee from the Universidad Autónoma de Chile (certificate number 2413). The study was conducted according to the Declaration of Helsinki for Human Subjects. Specifically, 12 schools were included, resulting in 10,2% with a CI of 95%. Stratified sampling proportional to the total number of students based on sex and age from the different schools was used to determine the final sample. Probability proportional to size (PPS) sampling was used to select the sample. The number of students in the study totaled 29,500 (17,410 males and 12,100 females). The simple population consisted of students from elementary and secondary municipal schools located in the Maule Region of Chile. This information may be useful for researchers and health science professionals for developing specific strategies for the Maule Region.Ī descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out with a sample of 3,013 students Chileans (Latinos – Latin Americans) between the ages of 5.0 and 18.9 years old. Īs a result, based on these premises, this study was guided by the following objectives: (a) identify height ranges (5 and 10 cm) for detecting BP in children and adolescents better suited to students in the Maule Region and (b) propose percentiles for assessing BP based on age, sex, and absolute height.
Thus, the methods based on chronological age and proposed formulas are better suited for tall children. Therefore, in the presence of a variety of methods that allow identification of elevated levels of BP in children and adolescents, recent studies have demonstrated that the measurement of absolute height divided into height ranges of 5 cm and 10 cm are practical tools and useful in detecting high BP in children and adolescents. This makes it difficult to quickly detect high BP in children and adolescents. In addition, some even incorporate a variable other than age in the presentation of their standards. Many of these are cumbersome and impractical for daily use. Some are based on the function of chronological age and others by height. In fact, in their studies, some researchers have proposed references for diverse regions of the world. Generally, these are based fundamentally on percentile tables. In this sense, a number of simple and easy to use tools have emerged in clinical practice for detecting high BP in children and adolescents. This is especially the case since determining factors exist, such as age, sex, ethnicity, specific racial height groups, socioeconomic conditions, and lifestyle, among other factors. Identifying children with high blood pressure is difficult to establish. Actually, it is widely known that evaluating BP in children and adolescent populations was an important component, not only for the pediatric examination, but also for prevention in medical examinations. Thus, until a few years ago, their inclusion in clinical practice during physical examinations was unusual.
The proposed percentiles based on height ranges allowed assessment of the DBP and SBP suggest their use in epidemiological and educational contexts.Įvaluation of blood pressure (BP) and the prevention of hypertension in children and adolescents has become a priority worldwide. Height is a determinant for evaluating blood pressure, and height ranges of 10 cm are more suitable for children and adolescents. In the 10 cm categories, diferences appeared in DBP (from 138 to 148 cm) and in the SBP (from 158 to 168 cm). For 5 cm height ranges, diferences occurred between both sexes for DBP (in 5 height ranges from 123 to 148 cm and 158 to 168 cm) and for the SBP (in 6 height ranges from 128 to 148 cm and from 158 to 168 cm). For height ranges of 10 cm, values included. R 2 values for height ranges of 5 cm consisted of. Height ranges of 5 and 10 cm were generated. Weight, height, and diastolic (DBP) and systolic (SBP) blood pressure were evaluated. MethodsĪ cross-sectional study was carried out with 3,013 students. The objectives of this research were to (a) identify the range of height for measuring BP adjusted for student populations and (b) propose percentiles for evaluating BP based on height. Evaluating blood pressure (BP) is one element for diagnosing and preventing disease in student populations.